Long road back for Sywassink

Frontcourt stabilized with forward's return

Roughly a year ago, a noise was heard throughout the Convocation Center that stopped players, coaches and athletic trainer Sherry Summers in their tracks.

"There's a very different yell or holler when an individual incurs an [anterior cruciate ligament] injury," Summers said. "It's just a very different type of agony, which you can sense. I heard that holler."

That holler originated from the hardwood of the basketball court, where red-shirt junior forward Mindy Sywassink lay in pain. Three days away from the opening game of the season, Sywassink went up for a rebound and landed awkwardly on a practice player's foot.

"My ankle went one way, and he hit my knee just right where it went the other way," Sywassink said. "I tore my [medial collateral ligament], my ACL and my meniscus — I tore everything. That was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life."

After transferring into the program from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last season and developing a relationship with the staff, players and coaches, it was that much harder when Sywassink went down with the injury. Coach Kenny Brooks knows what kind of impact Sywassink could have had on the team.

"She's very persistent and focused," Brooks said. "She was really looking forward to last year. She could have helped us tremendously.

"She might have been the difference in two or three games. I'm not saying that she would have won them by herself, but just the little things she does for the team [could have been a difference in those games]," Brooks added.

With Sywassink out for the entire year, JMU compiled a 16-11 record. Even though she never stepped foot on the court, the team greatly was helped by Sywassink's presence, Summers said.

"She was very much involved after the injury, and was the major cheerleader for the group," Summers said. "Even though she wasn't on the floor, she was a very integral part of the team. We really missed her when she was away because she had her surgery back home in Iowa.

"She is such a great communicator. She can be a comedian at times, but yet the leadership quality really shines through," Summers said.

The relationship between Sywassink and her trainer has been cultivated by the amount of time they spent together, Sywassink said. Because of her injury, Sywassink was a daily visitor to the training room, often seeing Summers multiple times during the day to rehabilitate her knee. The repetitive nature of the rehab sometimes frustrated Sywassink, and occasionally she took it out on those around her.

"I've apologized for being so hard-headed for being such a pain," Sywassink said. "I was with Sherry every day — every day we had practice, I was sitting on the sidelines doing various practices to strengthen up my knee.

"There were days I'd just get mad at Sherry. But, she understands any Division I athlete that gets injured like this doesn't like to sit out. She was very understanding," Sywassink added.

Now that she almost has had a year since the injury, Sywassink once again is returning to form physically. With the loss of four seniors, including leading scorer and rebounder Shanna Price ('03), the Dukes will need Sywassink to produce on the court. Coach Brooks is one person who recognizes what Sywassink can do for the Dukes.

"Even though she has never put on a JMU uniform (during the regular season), she will give us a lot of leadership from her past experiences," coach Brooks said.

Despite Sywassink's claims to be just a "typical college student," it is clear from her coaches and trainers' accolades that she will be anything but typical this year for the Dukes.

Sywassink grew up on a Holstein-cow dairy farm in Muscatine, Iowa, where she helped with the family business.

She was named captain of her basketball and volleyball teams and also excelled in tennis and track while attending high school. In 2001, Sywassink walked onto the Iowa State University basketball team as a freshman. That year, Iowa State won the Big 12 Conference championship and made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, Sywassink saw very limited playing time, and was forced to make a tough decision after her first year.

"I loved Iowa State — I actually didn't want to leave," Sywassink said. "However, the opportunities for me to play were very minimal. The best route for me to go then was junior college."

Sywassink's next step was to Kirkwood C.C. Once again, Sywassink's team achieved great success, winning the NJCAA Division II National Championship. Sywassink was a key element to her team's success, averaging 7.5 points and six rebounds per game throughout the season. At Kirkwood, Mindy caught the eye of then-assistant coach Brooks, who was scouting the tournament in Hagerstown, Md.
"She loves to set picks, can rebound the ball well and has a wide body that can box people out," coach Brooks said.

Sywassink came to JMU after Coach Brooks got in touch with her, and she said she fell in love with the campus. In fact, she decided she wanted to come here on her first visit. Even though JMU is very far from home, Sywassink said she relished the chance to come play basketball for the Dukes.

"Distance was never really a factor for me," Sywassink said. "I just kind of wanted to get away — experience something different, something new. I'm the type of person who gets to know people right away. The sooner I make friends, the easier it is for me to adjust."

With the Dukes season set to tip off Nov. 23, Sywassink prepares for yet another step on the long road back from injury. After transferring to her third college and rehabilitating a knee injury, she has traveled far finally to take this step.